Things to Ponder Before You Buy the Motorola-Verizon Droid

Verizon Wireless stores are opening as early as 7 a.m. local time Nov. 6 to begin selling the Motorola Droid, which is targeting Apple's iPhone with a killer ad campaign and offering Google Maps Navigation GPS and other perks such a 5 megapixel camera. The smartphone is $199 after a mail-in rebate. Walt Mossberg of All Things Digital says the mobile device requires a minimum $70 monthly service plan for two years, excluding text messaging. Gearlog has more on the service plans, noting that if you want to connect Droid to a Microsoft Exchange account, it will cost $30. Also, Verizon Wireless will enable Droid users to tether their smartphones to their laptops in 2010.

Many Droid watchers have seen the stats about the Motorola Droid smartphone that
Verizon Wireless will begin selling Nov. 6 for $199 after a mail-in rebate
(there is an instant rebate if you order from Best Buy).
But you may not know that some Verizon
Wireless stores are opening as early as 7
a.m. local time to begin selling the device, which is targeting
Apple's iPhone with a killer ad campaign and offering Google Maps Navigation GPS
and other perks such a 5 megapixel camera.

That's some stores, not all. For example, when eWEEK called to check on
early Verizon Wireless openings in Fairfield County,
Conn., we found that Verizon stores in
malls opened at their regularly scheduled time. If you want to get in early,
the best bet is to line up at the stand-alone stores. We think 6 a.m. sounds about right. No kidding.

You may also have seen the overall positive reviews from Walt Mossberg (paywall warning) and David Pogue in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times,
respectively. Pogue pitted the Droid and iPhone head to head, noting:

Mossberg meanwhile summed up what was on many people's minds about the
subscription costs you incur with the Droid after the rebate; the device
requires a minimum $70 monthly service plan for two years, excluding text
messaging. See BillShrink's calculations of smartphone costs for the Droid,
iPhone and Palm Pre.
But gadget blogs are ground zero for all of the new, hot Droid action. Sascha
Segan for Gearlog has more on the service plans, asserting that it will
cost $30 per month to connect to a Microsoft Exchange account, instead of $45
as some reported. Segan, who checked with Verizon Wireless, noted:

"There is no special Droid data
plan. Second, whether you pay $30 or $45 doesn't depend on what you're doing
with the phone. You can hit Exchange email on the $30 plan just fine. It
depends on what kind of Verizon Wireless account you have. If you have a
personal account or family plan, your data will cost $30/month. It doesn't
matter if you're using Microsoft Exchange, Facebook, Gmail, or whatever - it's
$30."

However, data on business accounts costs $45 per month. These nuggets are
important for corporate road warriors considering the Droid.
Beginning in 2010-not tomorrow when
the Droid lands-Verizon Wireless will
enable the Droid to be used as a modem to access the Internet on a laptop through
Verizon's 3G wireless EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized) service, Cnet learned.
This could be a big boost for the Droid over the iPhone, which does not
tether to Macs. Tethering will be a crucial component of Verizon's Broadband
Access Connect plan. Segan over at Gearlog said users should expect this plan to add $15 a month
to the Droid service plan.
Finally, and this is key in case you Verizon users are planning to jump ship
to AT&T for the iPhone: Starting Nov. 15, Verizon will be charging up to
$350 as an early termination fee for "advanced devices," according to
the Boy Genius Report.
However, in a twist, Verizon will reward users for the time they do spend
with the wireless carrier by shaving $10 off of the termination fee for every
month they remain a customer. No doubt the Droid, which Pogue put in its own
category by calling it an "app phone," constitutes an advanced
device.
Finally, in case you can't get enough of the Droid hype, see the new Droid stealth commercial here. Now: Who is lining up tomorrow to purchase this
phone?